DIYMark Posted July 5, 2008 Posted July 5, 2008 I finished my ball mill yesterday. It took 3 afternoons after college to complete and I'm pretty impressed with it. The motor and drive pulleys are from a small bench drill. Everything one this build was from what was lying around so the total cost was around 20 bucks for the PVC stuff. The Jar is 300mm long and 150mm Wide. Its only got a third of its "ideal" milling media however it can mill a pound of BP in 2.5 - 3 Hours to the finished product. Ive tested some 75:15:10 and its burnt with a nice thump and that was just straight from the mill. Here a over all picture of the mill. http://img387.imageshack.us/img387/7525/20759253ku8.th.jpg Heres one behind. http://img56.imageshack.us/img56/520/17298726zr9.th.jpg And one with the Jar in and my caliper on top for comparison. http://img56.imageshack.us/img56/2777/49109739wu8.th.jpg Questions/comments welcome!
mormanman Posted July 5, 2008 Posted July 5, 2008 That jar is big. How many lbs is that thing? Volume? Everything.
DIYMark Posted July 5, 2008 Author Posted July 5, 2008 Volume is 5.3 liters and so far I have ~5 Kg of milling media. 450 grams of green mix will sift its way through all the media so its line with the top of it. If I had it full to ideal levels (third full) I'm guessing it could mill around +1kg of BP which is tons for my use so I'll probably stick whatever amount of milling media is in there. Because I don't have the proper amount of milling media I use it around 120 RPM which makes it give a nice constant cascading sound (music to my ears but probably not to the neighbors )
Swede Posted July 5, 2008 Posted July 5, 2008 That looks really stout, and a very clever use of caster wheels. Excellent job! Nothing makes pyro easier than a good ball mill. Now you need to work on a star roller!
DIYMark Posted July 5, 2008 Author Posted July 5, 2008 Star roller? A bucket on the ball mill! lol ATM I'm using cut and pumped stars however after my Visco machine (next project hopefully) I may make a dedicated star roller.
frogy Posted July 5, 2008 Posted July 5, 2008 I like your design, though I'm pretty sure this doesn't deserve its own thread... Mumbles will probably come yell at you in a tad
Yankie Posted July 5, 2008 Posted July 5, 2008 Nice desig, a lot more sophisticated and compact than mine, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDaXjDqQzlgwe could make a ball mill thread where everyone posts videos or pictures of their ball mills?
DIYMark Posted July 5, 2008 Author Posted July 5, 2008 Would be a good idea seeing as it is THE main tool you need for pyro. No ball mill means no (decent) BP and ultimately no pyrotechnics.
Swede Posted July 5, 2008 Posted July 5, 2008 Ball mill designs are cool - there is so much variation, so many different ways to ultimately do the same thing. One day I am going to build a big one, and one of the goals will be variable speed. That can be done with a DC motor and a speed controller. Have it all in a weatherproof cabinet, with forced ventilation. I'm thinking good ball mill jars are the real trick. I've made them from PVC, but the problem (and I think it is a real one) is that chems that tend to clump eventually find the channel formed between the tube and the end cap fitting, and sit there, avoiding the mill media. I like the Lortone-style hard rubber jars, but those are not something you can make... yopu need to buy them. Mark, I like the frame you constructed out of perfed steel angle. Thats a good way to get a very rigid assembly with no welding, just bolt it together like an erector set. I also like the idea of a homemade ball mill thread. One location for full inspiration and ideas for the prospective BM maker.
Frozentech Posted July 5, 2008 Posted July 5, 2008 I'm thinking good ball mill jars are the real trick. I've made them from PVC, but the problem (and I think it is a real one) is that chems that tend to clump eventually find the channel formed between the tube and the end cap fitting, and sit there, avoiding the mill media. I like the Lortone-style hard rubber jars, but those are not something you can make... yopu need to buy them. I tend to agree. I use Thumlers jars for my milling, and a couple 6lb and a 12 lb jar cost as much as building my mill, a straight from the book Sponenburgh style machine.
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